An evacuation warning for Pinyon Pines, Alpine Village, Pinyon Crest and the Pinyon Flatts campgrounds was lifted Friday morning. as firefighters made significant advancements overnight in controlling the most-recent blaze along Highway 74 near the Santa Rosa Reservation.

The Ribbon Fire was reported shortly after 10 a.m. Thursday. By Friday morning it had spread to 200 acres and was 45 percent contained, according to CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department. The cause is under investigation.

Tony Briggs, a spokesman for the American Red Cross, said Friday that the Palm Desert High School evacuation shelter was closed at noon.

The shelter was opened Thursday in anticipation of possible evacuees whose homes were threatened by the Ribbon Fire. Fortunately, no residents used the Palm Desert shelter, Briggs said.

Riverside County Fire Capt. Fernando Herrera said the Ribbon Fire started at 15 acres, and had a chance of spreading and becoming a much larger fire, in which case it would have posed a threat to Palm Desert below.

There are 200 firefighters battling the blaze on the ground. They are being assisted by helicopters and air tankers, Tawny Cabral, a CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department spokeswoman, said.

As some of his neighbors were considering leaving their homes Thursday, Freddie Leeger perched on the ridge of Indio Avenue in Pinyon Pines and FaceTimed with a friend as his phone's camera faced the fire.

“I drove up there earlier and it looked pretty nasty,” Leeger said, “but no reason to leave just yet. I just hope that the power comes back.”

Since Wednesday, Leeger and his dogs have hunkered down in his home, no running water, no air conditioning.

“Nothing me and a few dogs can’t handle,” he said, smiling.

Leeger remained confident that the firefighters would protect them.

“I’ve got pretty good faith in the boys,” he said.

One way or the other, Leeger said, he’ll be alright. “All I got’s my dogs and my truck.”

Not far away, at the Paradise Valley Café, which sits at the fork of Highways 74 and 371, leading to the San Jacinto Mountains in one direction and the Santa Rosa Mountains in the other.

At that time Thursday, both mountain ranges appeared to be engulfed in flames.

Marlene Racca said she was at work in Pomona when her phone started blowing up. The Mountain Center resident’s neighbors urged her to come home, telling her that her house was in the line of the Cranston Fire. Stuck on Interstate 10 for two hours, Racca said she didn’t make it home in time before the evacuation order hit.

“I haven’t been back. I can’t get back,” Racca said, sitting on the patio of the café, which was closed Thursday due to the power outage caused by the Cranston Fire. Together with her two dogs, Reba and Dylan, Racca spent Wednesday night in the café parking lot.

Spending the night and most of Thursday on the patio, Racca said she made friends with two hikers who shared the limited food and water they brought on their trip.. “We’re just sitting here, watching this one, watching that one,” Racca said, with a resigned expression.

As the stranded group waited for updates Thursday, they watched nearby fire trucks and the sheriff’s deputies and highway patrol officers as they passed by,

“It’s like they don’t even know where they’re going,” said Racca, “there’s no food, no water, no information.”

Robert Deville and Paige Tyley look out at the Deville family's horses after they were brought back to Garner Valley, July 29, 2018. Garner Valley was evacuated on Friday as the Cranston Fire threatened the area.
Zoe Meyers/The Desert Sun

Kyle Stephens and Carra Mathewsod with Riverside County Animal Services bring food for a cat at the request of the home owner who was evacuated because of the Cranston Fire. Photo taken on Saturday, July 28, 2018 near Idyllwild.
Richard Lui/The Desert Sun

Kyle Stephens and Carra Mathewsod with Riverside County Animal Services bring food for pets at the request of the home owner who was evacuated because of the Cranston Fire. Photo taken on Saturday, July 28, 2018 in Idyllwild.
Richard Lui/The Desert Sun

Kyle Stephens and Carra Mathewsod with Riverside County Animal Services bring food for pets at the request of the home owner who was evacuated because of the Cranston Fire. Photo taken on Saturday, July 28, 2018 in Idyllwild.
Richard Lui/The Desert Sun

Kyle Stephens and Carra Mathewsod with Riverside County Animal Services feed chickens and a turkey on a property near McCall Park Rd. Animal services are caring a number animal who's owners have evacuate due to the Cranston Fire. Photo taken on Saturday, July 28, 2018.
Richard Lui/The Desert Sun

Kyle Stephens and Carra Mathewsod with Riverside County Animal Services feed chickens and a turkey on a property near McCall Park Rd. Animal services are caring a number animal who's owners have evacuate due to the Cranston Fire. Photo taken on Saturday, July 28, 2018.
Richard Lui/The Desert Sun

Riverside County Animal Services feed chickens and a turkey on a property near McCall Park Rd. Animal services are caring a number animal who's owners have evacuate due to the Cranston Fire. Photo taken on Saturday, July 28, 2018.
Richard Lui/The Desert Sun

Ryan Long, the interim shelter manager at the San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus plays with a evacuated dog from the Cranston Fire on Thursday, July 26, 2018 in San Jacinto. The shelter has received 15 cats and 26 dogs from the fire according to Long. Some were brought in by their owners and some by emergency responders.
Richard Lui/The Desert Sun

A cat evacuated from the Cranston Fire at the San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus on Thursday, July 26, 2018 in San Jacinto. The shelter has received 15 cats and 26 dogs from the fire according to Ryan Long, the interim shelter manager at the shelter. Some were brought in by their owners and some by emergency responders.
Richard Lui/The Desert Sun